Larry Smith has passed away

I just got an email from his son Casey Smith that Larry passed away last night in a Sorong hospital. According to Casey, he had been fighting an infection, and had to be med-evaced from the Fak Fak to Sorong. He will be missed greatly.

Larry's enthuasiasm and wisdom will be sorely missed by many. Thanks for posting Allan and Yung. We'd heard of Larry's passing but held off until his family was notified and it seems Dewi, his wife, is away on holiday and still does not know.As a tribute to Larry, Wetpixel will be putting together a page dedicated to Larry. For those interested in contributing their own words and experiences with Larry, please use a private message or email to Eric Cheng : http://wetpixel.com/contacteric/.Having known Larry for such a long time, I do send my very deepest condolescences to his family in Indonesia and the US. We will report more as more information comes in.

Drew
Moderator
"Journalism is what someone else does not want printed, everything else is public relations."

"I was born not knowing, and have only had a little time to change that here and there.

I've just been told that Dewi and Breezy, Larry's wife and daughter, were contacted in Java, where they were visiting relatives over the Nyepi holiday, and will be returning to Bali tomorrow.

I'm pulling together some photographs of Larry. I'm not sure exactly what we will do with them, but if you have one (or more) shots of Larry that you like to have included, please contact me by private wetpixel message or by email.

Like many others I am touched and saddened by Larry's death and offer my condolences and thoughts to his family and friends.

I met Larry in 2000 on a Pelagian trip to Komodo. Certainly one of the best divemasters in the world, he left a lasting impression on me with his enthusiasm for diving and devotion to his guests. I have memories of 3 special dives on that trip. On one dive a lens popped out of my mask, so I was going to abort the dive and started to ascend when Larry grabbed me and offered me his mask so I could complete the dive. He wore my mask with one lens for the rest of the dive. I couldn't believe he would that for me. One night we went for a dive to see flashlight fish. Larry took us to the spot and we turned off our lights. Magically, as if on cue, a swarm of twinkling fish appeared in a coralhead in front of us and then flowed past us into the night. I swear Larry could find anything underwater! My favorite memory of Larry was another night dive when I asked him to find a Spanish Dancer (one of the animals on my wishlist). We went down and he wrapped my arm around his (his trademark arm lock) leading me on a tour of the site. He found 5 Spanish Dancers in about 15 minutes.

He made huge contributions to muck and liveaboard diving and inspired divers everywhere. He was an extraordinary person and a legend among dive professionals. I was privileged to meet him and wish I had taken another trip with him. It is a terrible loss.

The outpouring of love and tributes from friends all over the world is a deserved honor in celebration of a remarkable life. He will be missed, but never forgotten.